Why Ukraine Is Winning the War
Yuval Noah Harari
Ukraine has resisted the Russian invasion and preserved its independence. Russia has paid huge casualties for tiny gains while Ukraine used smart tactics, drones and Western arms to stop them. Russia now bets on breaking Western support, but Putin has already failed to destroy the Ukrainian nation.
30 Sep 2025
In 2025, at a cost of around 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers killed and injured, the Russian army has so far managed to capture just a thin sliver of frontier zone amounting, according to the most reliable sources, to around 0.6 per cent of Ukraine’s total territory. At the rate they have been going in 2025, it would theoretically take the Russians around 100 years and tens of millions of casualties to conquer the rest of Ukraine. In fact, in August 2025, Russia controlled less of Ukraine’s territory than it did in August 2022.
By spreading propaganda that Russian victory is inevitable, the Russians hope the Americans and Europeans will lose heart, withdraw their support from Ukraine and force it to surrender. Succumbing to this propaganda will be a disaster not only for Ukraine, but for Nato countries that would lose much of their credibility, as well as their best defence against growing Russian threats.